Legal aspects of exercising discretionary authority of the prosecutor

Abstract

The subject of this research is the materials of the prosecutorial, law enforcement and judicial practice, norms of procedural legislation and legislation on the prosecutor's office, which regulate social relations emerged in exercising discretionary powers by the prosecutor in the context of oversight activity over execution of laws by the entities under supervision, as well as the positions formed on this matter. The object of this research is the social relations that arise in exercising discretionary powers by the prosecutor in the context of his oversight activity over execution of laws by the entities under supervision, essence, principles and limits, as well as the problems of their implementation occurring in prosecutorial activity. The study of discretionary authority of government branches lately receives increasing attention due ti the fact that limitless exercise of such authorities can invoke corruptive behavior. Examination of the questions of legal regulation of discretionary authority of the prosecutor is of prime importance as the prosecutor's office oversights the execution of laws and observance of rights of the citizens. The existing legal constructs that allow the exercise of discretion by the prosecutor are far from perfect, which causes the problems of law enforcement and violations of rights of the subjects under supervision. Therefore, the author explored the views of the scholars on the possibility of application and the scope of discretionary authority in the work of the prosecutor’s office and other government branches, effective legislation that regulates the discretionary authority of the prosecutor along with the practical aspects of its use. The novelty of this work and the author’s special contribution consist in the fact that based on the obtained results, the author offers a definition of the discretionary authority of the prosecutor, principles and limits of their application, as well as the way the legal constructs involving such authority should be structured.